Beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera) in the Premises of Museum Institutions of Ukraine

This article presents the first data on the species diversity of beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera) found during entomological surveys of the premises and museum objects of 21 museum institutions in Ukraine conducted between 2015 and 2025. The recorded beetles belong to 20 families. The most species-rich families identified were Dermestidae (11 species), Latridiidae (9), and Ptinidae (7). Other represented families included Carabidae, Curculionidae, and Scarabaeidae (4 species each); Chrysomelidae and Laemophloeidae (3 each); and Cleridae, Coccinellidae, Endomychidae, and Tenebrionidae (2 each). The remaining families were represented by one species each. In total, 60 beetle species from 47 genera were identified across the surveyed museum institutions during the entire research period. According to the classification of arthropod inhabitants of museum premises (Brokerhof et al., 2007; Korytnianska, Polchaninova, 2022), 23 species belong to the “museum pests” group (borers and biters), 22 species to the “residents II” group, and 11 species to the “visitors” group. In addition to the species traditionally recognized as museum pests (Dermestidae, Ptinidae), the survey also registered: Hexarthrum exiguum (Boheman, 1838), the myrmecophilous handsome fungus beetle Cholovocera balcanica (Karaman, 1936), Holoparamecus depressus Curtis, 1833, and nine species of minute brown scavenger beetles from the family Latridiidae (with the finding of Dienerella costulata (Reitter, 1877) marking the first recorded registration of this species in Ukraine). Other significant registrations include representatives of the families Carabidae, Staphylinidae, and Scarabaeidae. The comprehensive list of beetle species is supplemented with comments on the distribution of individual Coleoptera representatives in Ukrainian museums, their role in the damage of museum objects, features of their developmental biology, and other relevant observations.